The CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys have signed a contract with former MLB southpaw pitcher Brandon Waddell to play for them this year, the club said yesterday.
The 28-year-old was a fifth-round choice by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2015 draft before making 11 game appearances for four clubs in the major leagues.
He pitched for the Pirates in 2020 and then played for the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles and the St Louis Cardinals in 2021.
Photo: AP
Waddell also has experience playing in Asia. He played in South Korea for the Doosan Bears last year, replacing former Korea Baseball Organization Most Valuable Player and former MLB player Ariel Miranda, another lefty, in the middle of the season. Miranda reportedly has issues with his left shoulder.
During Waddell’s stint with the Bears, he made 11 starts out of 11 game appearances, claiming a 5-3 record and an ERA of 3.60.
The Korea JoongAng Daily in July last year reported that Waddell would earn US$200,000 in guaranteed salary for the rest of the season, with up to US$30,000 in incentives also up for grabs by playing for the Bears.
Photo: CNA
Waddell becomes one of two foreign pitchers on the Monkeys’ roster, the other being 33-year-old American right-hander Bradin Hagens, who has been with the club since 2021.
Hagens also has experience playing in the MLB after pitching two games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014.
Monkeys general manager Pu Wei-ching said that Waddell is likely to be a starting pitcher.
Waddell and Hagens are undergoing procedures to travel to Taiwan, Pu said, adding that he hopes they will report to the club early next month.
The Monkeys finished last year’s CPBL season on top of the five-team full regular-season standings with a 70-4-46 card, but lost the Taiwan Series to defending champions the CTBC Brothers.
Nottingham Forest FC are to go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros TC on Thursday, while Celtic FC secured their place in the knockout phase with a victory over FC Utrecht. Aston Villa FC finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured. Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches, but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way. Sean Dyche’s
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
BATTERED AND BRUISED: Alcaraz suffered a cramp in the third set, but was allowed treatment despite Zverev’s protests, and continued on to win in five-and-a-half hours An ailing Carlos Alcaraz battled past Alexander Zverev yesterday in five epic sets to reach his first Australian Open final and move within a match of becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. The world No. 1 outlasted the German third seed 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 over a titanic 5 hours, 27 minutes in hot conditions to head to tomorrow’s title match. He only narrowly avoided crashing out after a huge fright at 4-4 in the third set when he pulled up in pain with what appeared to be cramp. He was allowed to have treatment
RSS